Barbara Castle

Barbara Castle (6 October 1910-3 May 2002) was a British Labor Party politician who served as MP for Blackburn from 27 July 1945 to 3 May 1979, succeeding George Sampson Elliston and preceding Jack Straw. She was the longest-serving female MP in the House of Commons, and she served in numerous roles during Harold Wilson's cabinet.

Biography
Barbara Castle was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England on 6 October 1910, and she was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School and Oxford. In the 1930s, she worked as a journalist, and she was involved in local politics in London. In 1945, she was elected as the Labor Party MP for Blackburn, and she rose to prominence as a left-winger in the 1950s, a supporter of Aneurin Bevan. She served as Chairwoman of the Labor Party from 1958 to 1959, entered the cabinet as Minister of Overseas Development when Harold Wilson won the 1964 general election, and she served as Minister of Transport from 1965 to 1958. As Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity from 1968 to 1970, she proposed to weaken excessive trade union power through a compulsory twenty-eight-day conciliation period, and a universal membership ballot prior to strike action. Unsurprisingly, this was strongly opposed by the powerful trade unions, championed by James Callaghan, who effectively scuppered the plans. She also served as Secretary of State for Social Services in Wilson's last cabinet, and she was dropped by Callaghan when he became Prime Minister in 1976. She became an MEP in Strasburg from 1979 to 1989, and she entered the House of Lords in 1990. She died in 2002.